Easter Dog and Dresses

"He's going down river. Hurry up!," my cousin Cindy yelled to us while she ran along side of the river bank in her white Easter dress and bare feet. It was just half an hour ago that we had taken our shoes off to walk around the woods near the river. Heels and earthly terrain didn't mix very well for us.

After church that morning, two cousins and I went to celebrate Easter at our Nana's house. We hid chocolate eggs around the large house for the younger family members. The kids searched eagerly for blue, pink, green, and silver tin foiled eggs. They sat contently on the blue carpet eating their treasures, while three of us decided to take an Easter walk in the woods.

The sun was showing, sparkling through the trees and the air was crisp but warm. Our dresses swirled about our knees in the gentle breeze. We traveled down to "the Forge," and old place by the river where remnants of a pottery factory were covered with moss and vines. The old bricks were all that remained. The soil contained treasures of broken pottery made a century ago. It was a popular place for canoers to stop and get out for a while. I walked on top of some moss covered bricks like a balance beam, my pale feet stark white against the green and grey. I jumped off and followed my two cousins to the river bank.

We trotted over to the river's edge and dared each other to put our feet into the freezing cold, ice tea colored water. The water gets its color from the cedar trees. Two kayaks were parked on the bank. The couple was lying on the grass talking when one started calling a dog. We ignored them until we noticed that the dog was not coming. We heard a bark down stream. Cindy ran towards it along with the owner and saw the dog struggling to keep its head above the water. The strong current was carrying him quickly away. In our best dresses we were at a loss for what to do. I remembered the kayaks and got into one. Our family started kayaking as soon as we could hold the double paddle. So using one is second nature to any of us.

I was at the dog's side within a few seconds, stopping him from floating further down stream. But it would still be difficult to grab the dog up out of the water. I turned my head away for a second and heard a splash. Cindy had jumped into the brown water, dress and all. She had the dog up on dry land within minutes. As I returned the kayak to the grateful dog owners, I realized that my cousin's dress was miraculously still white. She didn't seem to notice. After we ensured the dog was ok, the three cousins disappeared as magically as we appeared back into the woods, Easter dresses blowing in the wind.